Betta's on a road trip?

[bettababe321]

So in a few short weeks I will be moving back up to school for the year. I was wondering, whats the best way to move two 5 gallon tanks 120 miles away? If I take them apart completly won't I have to cycle them all over again?
Heres what I was thinking:
1. Get 2 small 1 gallon or so critter keepers to serve as their transportation homes and so that they can stay in there while I set the tanks up again in my apartment. ( I can also then use them for rescue bettas!! )
2. Use those huge freezer bags and put 1 gallon of water, plus my current filter cartridge in each one.
3. Empty out the tanks, haul everything up to school and set them up again using the 2 gallons from home ( 1 gallon in the critter keeper and 1 with the filter in the bag) So its really just like I'm doing a large water change on both tanks. I'm thinking using the old water and the same filter cartridge will prevent me fro having to cycle again??

Oh and one more thing, since I'm going through all this trouble anyway I think I might switch to sand! :)

what do you guys think???

[Vikki81207]

You could just lower their water levels.

[puppyrjjkm]

I think you have a great plan! I'm guilty of doing 100% water changes on my 5 hex tank with one of my bettas and he is always fine. I think with 2 gallons of their regular water plus the new water they should be fine. Good luck :)

[dr2b]

Originally Posted by puppyrjjkm

I think you have a great plan! I'm guilty of doing 100% water changes on my 5 hex tank with one of my bettas and he is always fine. I think with 2 gallons of their regular water plus the new water they should be fine. Good luck :)

Why did you not cycle your 5 hex tank? It'd make your life so much easier :)

Oh, and about the traveling...
I just took my tank completely apart to reclean it after an accident. I went through a small mini-cycle for about a week. I just had slight ammonia levels during it, and just had to do 10% water changes daily. So even if you did take it completely apart - it wouldn't be a huge huge hassle.

[sumsum]

When I took Clyde to Palm Springs which is about 110 miles away a few times I just put him in a 1 gallon water jug and punch holes in the lid with about 6/8ths of the watter capacity full. He didn't mind living the jug for a week.

[dr2b]

Oh and here is a thread Tian Tian wrote about how she travels with her bettas back and forth to college every semester: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=24667

[puppyrjjkm]

Originally Posted by dr2b

Why did you not cycle your 5 hex tank? It'd make your life so much easier :)

Well I was a newbie, and didn't have time for regular weekly water changes, so I did a full change once a month.

[bettababe321]

Thanks guys for the advice!! I think I'm still going to get the critter keepers just so I have a couple of one gallons for some rescue bettas :)

Originally Posted by Vikki81207

You could just lower their water levels.

I was thinking about doing that but I really want to switch to sand so I think I'm going to have to take everything out lol

One more question about the Bio-Wheel.. does it have to stay wet? like will the bacteria on it die if it dries out? I think I'll just put it in the bag with the water just in case.
thanks again!

[RoseyD]

I think the moving of the filter media (biowheel) is what will be the more difficult task, rather than the fish part. - Yes, the fish will be fine with 1 gallon critter containers. Just don't drive so fast around any sharp corners.

but to keep the filter media's bacteria alive, you will have to be really careful - fully submerged in water will kill them. dry too, will kill them. They need oxygen to live. Your best bet will be to put the biowheels in a tupperware container with some holes in the lid, with a half inch of water ... if the tupperware is big enough to allow the wheels to rotate, this would be preferred, with the hope that the bacteria will stay damp, and move around enough so that the bacteria won't drown ...

definitely empty the tanks and pack them carefully (no gravel inside would be easier) - you don't want to risk scratching them up in transit.

[Kim]

I would still put about half of the old gravel in even if you want to switch to sand. Just because with the move and all I don't think you'd have enough bacteria if you got rid of all your substrate at once.

Everything else sounds great. Good luck!